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Asian- and Black-Canadians at Vimy Ridge

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Asian- and Black-Canadians at Vimy Ridge MILITARY HISTORY DND photo IS06-2017-0005-039 by Master Corporal Jennifer Kusche Corporal Jennifer Master by IS06-2017-0005-039 DND photo Silence reigns in the early morning light at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Vimy, France, on 7 April 2017, one hundred years to the day after the epic battle. Asian- and Black-Canadians at Vimy Ridge by Mathias Joost Major Mathias Joost, CD, is officer in charge of the war Black-Canadian soldiers at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The truth, diaries/operational records at the National Defence Directorate however, is far different. of History and Heritage. His areas of interest include the Air Reserves and visible minorities in the military. Japanese-Canadians and their participation in the CEF during the First World War is also an oft-overlooked subject. They too had Introduction problems enlisting in the CEF, but they were eventually accepted in ‘White’ battalions. Their arrival in the United Kingdom was just he Battle of Vimy Ridge is considered the in time to be trained and deployed, so that they could participate quintessential “Canadian” battle of the First in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. World War, celebrated in Canadian mythology as the moment when Canada became a nation and In terms of numbers, the soldiers from both of these ethnic as having bought it a seat at the Versailles Peace groups were small, yet they served with as great a determination TTreaty. The troops involved were more than just of British as any other soldier. By the time of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, there and Canadian origin – in effect, White-Canadians. Asian- and were about 140 Black-Canadian soldiers who had enlisted in the Black-Canadians also fought at Vimy Ridge, their story mainly combat battalions of the CEF, as well as 186 Japanese-Canadians. untold as to how they got to Vimy, and the nature and extent Yet, at the battle itself, only about 30 Black soldiers were involved, of their participation in the battle. and about 130 Japanese-Canadians. Considering that there were at least 212 Japanese-Canadians who served in the CEF during Conventional narratives of Black-Canadian participation the war, and about 1250 Black-Canadians, including the Black- in the First World War focus upon the contributions of No. 2 Caribbean and African-Americans who served, the disparity in Construction Battalion, Canada’s largest predominantly-Black numbers is worth investigating.1 Further, their contributions to unit of that conflict. Forgotten are the many Black-Canadians who the Battle should be considered an example of the desire to prove enlisted in battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), themselves equal to and worthy of being considered Canadian. for whom the common mythology indicates that they were not This article will examine the means by which Black- and Japanese- able to enlist in the CEF. Thus, there should not have been any Canadians were accepted into the CEF, how this affected their presence at Vimy Ridge, and the nature of their participation.2 Canadian Military Journal • Vol. 18, No. 1, Winter 2017 45 Beginnings On arrival in the UK, the battalions in which Black- and Japanese-Canadians had enlisted were broken up, with the excep- hen Japanese-Canadians in the lower mainland of British tion of most battalions that crossed the Atlantic as part of the W Columbia were unable to enlist in CEF battalions being 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions. When the four battalions in recruited in that area in 1914 and 1915, they found units ready which Japanese-Canadians had enlisted arrived in the UK, they to accept them in Alberta. It started slowly. The 13th Battalion, were dispersed. The Japanese-Canadians were kept together Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR), enlisted two on 6 April 1916, in their respective platoons and transferred to the 10th, 50th and the 175th Battalion, one on 6 February, the 191st Battalion, three 52nd Battalions. That said, the men of the 191st Battalion arrived at the end of May, and the 192nd Battalion, two on 18 May. in the UK in April 1917, and were thus too late to participate at Starting in June, Japanese-Canadians were accepted into the the Battle of Vimy Ridge. four battalions in small numbers each week, so that by the time each departed for the UK, they consisted of the numbers and The Black-Canadians allocations as noted in Table 1. owever, the situation for Black-Canadians was far Unit Number of Date of H different. Of the 122 Black soldiers whose units made it Japanese- Departure to the UK by the end of 1916 and are known to have enlisted 4 Canadians3 for UK in the combat arms, at least 85 were unable to serve at Vimy. There were a number of reasons for this. Some had been left 13th Battalion, CMR 41 June 1916 behind in Canada or Bermuda for medical or other reasons, or 175th Battalion 57 October 1916 they were in the process of being released after having already 191st Battalion 22 March 1917 made it to the United Kingdom.5 The main reason for release Author 192nd Battalion 50 November 1916 was for medical issues, as the medical examination performed upon enlistment was, at best, cursory, and it often missed back Table 1: Japanese-Canadians in Alberta-based battalions. problems, heart issues, flat feet, or other medical concerns that precluded an individual from service.6 Unlike the Japanese-Canadians who were concentrated in four battalions, Black- The biggest systemic reason for Canadians were scattered throughout the CEF, “Unlike the Japanese- Black-Canadians not being at Vimy was admin- istrative. There were 33 Black soldiers who since they enlisted from Vancouver to Halifax. Canadians who were Further, they enlisted over a much longer were held in reserve battalions after their units period of time. By the end of 1916, at least 139 concentrated in four had been broken up. While White-Canadians in had joined combat units.3 While the formation battalions, Black- the same units were quickly sent to front-line of No. 2 Construction Battalion was supposed battalions, Black-Canadians literally lan- Canadians were 7 to provide an outlet for those Black men who guished in the UK. Some would be sent to wished to serve, many Black-Canadians scattered throughout the front after the Battle of Vimy Ridge, while decided to enlist in infantry battalions, even the CEF, since they a few served the entire war in the UK. Starting in mid-1916, those that arrived in the UK were at the risk of being rejected. The result was enlisted from Vancouver that they could be found in small numbers, less likely to be deployed to the front-line normally clusters of under- five, in battalions to Halifax.” units, or even to spend the rest of their wartime throughout the CEF. service in the UK. This was likely the result of prejudice on the part of senior staff at the various headquarters, but especially from Major-General Samuel Benfield Steele, commander of the British South Eastern District.8 Killed in Died Recovering Transferred Held in Released Unit File At Action of from to No. 2 UK – (Medical Not Not Vimy Illness Wounds Construction Reserve or at yet Battalion Battalion Other) Vimy Available Author 9 1 4 17 33 19 6 16 27 Table 2: Black-Canadian soldiers and their disposition before Vimy Ridge. For at least six Black-Canadians, they were in units that Thus, despite the number of Black-Canadians who had arrived were not part of the order of battle for Vimy Ridge, units such as in the UK in combat arms regiments being comparable to that of stationary hospitals and railway troops. Perhaps one of the more the Japanese-Canadians, there were fewer who were available to extraordinary reasons for not being at Vimy Ridge was that of a serve at Vimy. At best, the current calculations are that around Black artilleryman who was awaiting transfer to the Royal Flying 42 fought during the Battle, although this is likely to be reduced Corps (RFC). At a time when the RFC was not accepting visible as personnel files become more widely available. minorities for enlistment, his chain of command was supporting his application. He was successful in his endeavour.9 46 Canadian Military Journal • Vol. 18, No. 1, Winter 2017 MILITARY HISTORY DND/Directorate of History and Heritage of History and Heritage DND/Directorate The Vimy Assault Plan German soldiers in their trenches and then “To help suppress the consolidate the positions, each battalion’s he attack on Vimy Ridge was a straight- Lewis machine guns would accompany the T forward frontal assault on the German German soldiers in their soldiers forward.10 positions. All four Canadian divisions trenches and then The Japanese-Canadians would be involved in the attack, with 850 consolidate the Canadian guns and 280 British guns provid- ing support, as well as the entire British 5th positions, each y the end of 1916, about 182 Japanese- Division. The artillery was to demolish the battalion’s Lewis B Canadians had enlisted in the CEF, of whom about 160 had arrived in the German trenches, keep the Germans in their machine guns would dugouts and suppress German artillery fire. UK by the time of Vimy Ridge. The 22 At 5:30 AM, the artillery opened up, with accompany the Japanese soldiers in the 191st Battalion the infantry advancing behind the barrage. soldiers forward.” were still in Canada, the battalion only Because of the size of the ridge, and the proceeding to the UK in late-March 1917.
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